What is a sustainable neighborhood? Essentially, it is a neighborhood that represents all aspects of the community (i.e. schools, shopping, education and work) so that residents experience a sense of community while protecting the environment. These neighborhoods are praised because they not only improve our relationship with and protect the environment, but also provide a wide range of social and economic benefits to its citizens. Affordability, accessibility, community and environment are truly factors that are critical to creating a sustainable neighborhood, so take some time to dig deeper and get a true picture of a sustainable neighborhood.
Availability
One of the main characteristics of a sustainable neighborhood is its affordability. All too often it happens that living in the most vibrant cities becomes more and more expensive until housing prices are finally affordable only to the very rich. The most sustainable neighborhoods allow residents to save money (thus making housing more affordable) by reducing costs related to transportation, heating, cooling, and maintenance. For example, multi-generation residential buildings can help reduce energy costs, as even a semi-detached house loses 20% less heat than a single-family house.
These neighborhoods also provide localized amenities so homeowners are less dependent on the car to get to these amenities. Some estimates put the cost of owning a car as high as $9,000/year, and sustainable neighborhoods help reduce these costs simply by being close to the amenities we visit most.
Accessibility
Ideally, sustainable neighborhoods are developed with infrastructure that connects residences, schools and workplaces, as well as other amenities including shops, restaurants, health facilities and a nursery school. In other words, these neighborhoods are walkable and encourage residents to use public transportation, bicycles, or other environmentally friendly modes of transportation instead of cars.
Health and community
As you may be beginning to realize, these neighborhoods are mixed-use neighborhoods. They feature commercial, social and residential buildings, so we spend more time in our community and less time traveling to and from home. The walkability makes residents of these neighborhoods healthier, but because all of our amenities are close together, we also have more time to develop a sense of community.
Environment
A final factor that benefits from sustainable neighborhoods is the environment. These neighborhoods have green space and buildings in these neighborhoods should be built using the latest green building technologies. This means lower energy and water consumption, better recycling and the use of more natural materials in the construction process. Ultimately, this will create a neighborhood that is clean and environmentally friendly.
While sustainable neighborhoods are a new concept, it stands to reason that as our societies become more concerned with ecology and work-life balance, they will become the norm.
